After years of so - call “ upgrades ” that have failed to allay supervising lawmakers ’ concerns about the integrity of its public comment system , the Federal Communications Commission has apparently decide to scrap and replace its comment organization entirely , multiple source separate Gizmodo .
The Electronic commentary Filing System ( ECFS ) , launched in 1998 , earmark Americans and virtually anyone else to contribute input about proposed FCC prescript when subject to its notice - and - comment rulemaking process . earlier , the ECFS was used primarily by industry stakeholders and telecommunication attorneys trying to sway FCC policymakers via written legal argument . More recently , the public at large has become aware of the system through the monolithic grassroots campaign surround the FCC ’s net neutrality legal proceeding .
https://gizmodo.com/fcc-emails-show-agency-spread-lies-to-bolster-dubious-d-1826535344
US President Donald Trump listens to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai speak during an announcement about 5G network deployment in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on 22 February 2025.Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM / Getty
leak to Gizmodo , an email by an FCC official date this hebdomad encourages those “ who comment frequently at the FCC ” to hang roundtable discussions hold on Tuesday and Wednesday this workweek regarding the creation of the raw system . Two sources familiar with inner FCC correspondence regarding the ECF confirm its legitimacy with Gizmodo . The email take , in part :
The Federal Communications Commission ( Commission ) is blend in to replace our Electronic Comment Filing System ( ECFS ) and we call for your aid on how to better serve the world . ECF was in the beginning launched in 1998 as a mechanics to let electronic submission and enquiry of rulemakings before the Commission . Today , ECFS also serves as the repository for official records in the Commission ’s docketed proceedings from 1992 to the present and turn on the populace to retrieve any written document in the organisation . While ECFS has been upgrade in retiring year , the Commission now plans to replace the current organization with a new system that will render it more exploiter - well-disposed and efficient as it extend to fulfill its role in get electronic submissions and relieve oneself them usable to the public .
The email further instructed those with an interest group in attending the meeting to touch an employee with the FCC ’s Consumer Affairs and Outreach Division , who did not answer to Gizmodo ’s postulation for comment . similarly , FCC Chairman Ajit Pai did not respond .
“ It ’s been two year since the FCC ’s scuttlebutt scheme was flooded with fraud , ” FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel enjoin . “ Our record book included millions of stolen identities , filing from Russian electronic mail addresses , and all way of fake stuff . ” She added that while newsworthiness the agency is ultimately looking to update the organization is welcome , the trouble is “ more underlying . ”
“ This is how the public tells Washington what it cogitate of its major insurance policy proposals . But for too long the FCC has brush off the stack it made with the final neutrality proceeding . The agency needs to investigate just what hap and discover who stimulate this fraud so that it never go on again , ” Rosenworcel said .
While the ECFS is operative most of the time , it has also crashed repeatedly under heavy traffic gobs . During two such incident , FCC officialspublicly liedabout the reason why , claim that the system had been arrive at byfictitious cyberattacks .
Aninspector worldwide reportabout scheme downtime in 2017 additionally conclude that Pai , the current FCC professorship , had provided members of Congressfalse informationabout the incident . Pai refuse any wrongdoing and position the blame squarely on his primary entropy officer who ’d departed the agency month before .
Ashley Boizelle , surrogate general direction at the FCC , told lawmakers lately last month that the office was keep on to “ make improvements ” to the ECFS and had consider enforce a CAPTCHA arrangement to distinguish human comment filer from automated compliance , which the FCC currently assume in bulk in a kind of formats .
“ Even more importantly , we have launched a buttery review to overhaul the arrangement , ” Boizelle said . “ Across - agency workings group has been tasked with leading this try . They are now in the process of convening roundtables with various external stakeholder to ensure that the next multiplication of ECFS is both approachable and secure . ”
Update , 5:50pm : sum up a command from FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel .
Ajit Pai
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